Chapter 9 - The Billionaire Mafia Boss Who Had Never Been Defeated Finally Admitted He Was Afraid of Losing the Woman He LovedJericho changed after New York.
He became quieter.
He spent more time with Rosie.
More time with me.
One night, we sat by the ocean.
“I don't know how to do this.”
I looked at him.
“Do what?”
“Love someone without fearing they'll disappear.”
My heart tightened.
“I understand.”
“I've lost everyone.”
“Not everyone.”
He looked at me.
“You.”
I nodded.
“And Rosie.”
“Yes.”
He took my hand.
“I don't want to lose you.”
“You won't.”
“You can't promise that.”
“No.”
I looked at him.
“But I can promise I'll choose you.”
His eyes softened.
Then he kissed me.
The kiss was gentle.
Not possessive.
Not rushed.
A choice.
The next morning, we received a video.
Daniel.
My father.
He stood beside the Circle.
“You think love will save you.”
Jericho watched.
Daniel continued:
“Give me Evelyn.”
“No.”
“Then I take Rosie.”
I stepped forward.
“Leave her out of this.”
Daniel smiled.
“She is your weakness.”
“She is my family.”
“Same thing.”
The video ended.
The Circle attacked three locations.
Our office.
The foundation.
The estate.
We defended them.
But they didn't want to win.
They wanted to exhaust us.
We found their funding.
We froze it.
We exposed their accounts.
The federal government began investigating.
Then Margaret died.
Before she died, she sent me a message.
The Circle meets beneath the old courthouse.
We went.
The basement was enormous.
Dozens of servers.
Documents.
Photographs.
Everything.
We found the original Crown ledger.
It listed every operation.
Every person.
Every payment.
I copied everything.
Then Daniel appeared.
My father.
He stood across the room.
“Evelyn.”
I stared.
“I remember you.”
He smiled.
“Finally.”
“You hurt me.”
“I saved you.”
“No.”
“You were dangerous.”
“I was a child.”
“You were my daughter.”
“I was your experiment.”
He went silent.
Jericho stepped forward.
“You're done.”
Daniel laughed.
“You think you can defeat the Circle?”
“We already have.”
“No.”
He pressed a button.
The servers began deleting.
I ran.
My memory kicked in.
I remembered the sequence.
I typed it.
The deletion stopped.
Daniel stared.
“You remember.”
“Yes.”
“You can control it.”
“No.”
I smiled.
“I can destroy it.”
The servers shut down.
The Circle's archive was destroyed.
Federal agents entered.
The leaders were arrested.
Daniel surrendered.
For the first time, my father had nowhere to run.
He looked at me.
“Lennox.”
“No.”
“Evelyn.”
I nodded.
“That is my name.”
He smiled sadly.
“I wanted you safe.”
“You wanted me useful.”
“Both.”
“No.”
I walked away.
Jericho followed.
Outside, the city was waiting.
The war wasn't completely over.
But the Circle had fallen.
The Shadow Crown was broken.
May you like
The Black Crown was gone.
And I was free.
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